Big year ends for Clarke

After splitting one-goal games during the regular season, Conference A-II girls’ soccer champion Island Trees and runner-up Clarke had another back-and-forth battle in the first round of the Nassau Class A playoffs decided by the slimmest of margins.

Senior Allison Merrill scored twice to lift ninth-seeded Island Trees to a 2-1 home victory. Sophomore Dina Simonian scored for the Lady Rams, who controlled the tempo most of the game but didn’t find the net until only a few minutes remained.

“We knew each other so well and just played in our final conference game,” Clarke coach Becky Wachsberger said. “I was happy with how much we possessed the ball. Most of the play was in the midfield and neither team had a lot of scoring chances. The thought of penalty kicks crossed my mind.”

All the scoring came in the final 15 minutes. The Lady Rams, who were without one of their leading scorers, freshman forward Hope Quinonez (six goals, six assists) due to a stress fracture in her foot, had a goal disallowed in the first half. Senior goalkeeper Emily Ramos made six saves for Clarke, which finished 10-2-3 overall.

“Missing Hope was a factor,” said Wachsberger, who noted sophomore Amanda Astudillo and Abby Trotter played well up front. “She’s so skilled and dangerous and difficult to mark.”

With Ramos the lone senior on the roster, Wachsberger said the Lady Rams are already looking forward to 2012. “We had amazing chemistry this year and everyone is excited for the future,” she said. “Emily was strong in goal all year and we wouldn’t have won 10 games without her. It’s rare when you can look forward to almost the whole team returning. The girls are already talking about offseason workouts.”

A defense led by All-State selection Nicole Wahlig and junior Stefanie Kaufman helped Ramos and junior Christina Pappas combine to post 10 shutouts, including seven in a row to begin October. Wahlig, an All-County choice in 2010, also led Clarke in goals with seven.

“Nicole is one of the best athletes I’ve ever watched play the game,” Wachsberger said. “She has all the skills and speed and throw-ins that travel 40 yards.”

Three of Wahlig’s goals came in the second half of a 3-3 tie against Wantagh. The Lady Rams trailed 3-0 at halftime. “She scored one on a header off a corner and twice on breakaways,” Wachsberger said.

Kaufman had a tremendous campaign as well after suffering a broken ankle last fall that required surgery. “She played every game and hardly came off the field,” Wachsberger said.

In the midfield, sophomores Simonian (four goals, five assists) and Samantha Goodwin (eight goals, five assists), freshman Nicole Russell and eighth-grader Jennifer Wahlig work well together and could prove more of a handful for the competition next fall.